Never Knew: Part One The song
by Ukari Love
Summary: Rachel and Noah are partnered together to sing a duet for Glee. After their previous argument at the bleacher they have not been talking much to each other. With this project it seems they will be forced to do so. But things go bad even before they begin
1. Chapter 1

Never Knew

Rachel and Noah

The music room had been buzzing; now that the guys from the football team came back Mr. Schuester could get back in to the groove of things. It would be nice to have the whole group together and performing like a complete group. Never being late Mr. Schuester swung open the door and greeted every one with a friendly smile as he always did. "I am so glad that you guys didn't have to pick between football and Glee. We are really proud of all of you guys. And now that the "slushie wars"," He raised his hands in to the arm and made air quotation with his fingers, "We all really need to pull together and act as a team. So instead of one big group song like we normally do… not that they aren't great or anything they, I want to do some duets. I mean we have so many great voices in this group I want to show them off to everyone. Now if they work out we can think about doing some of them for sectionals. How's that sound…?" Though all the faces were in the room, there had been some real riffs. Quinn was never really able to pick herself up after being kicked off cheerios and Rachel and Puck had been rather quite since their argument at the belchers. "Come on guys I need a little excitement. Puck!" He said as he turned curiously to the young man. "You are going to be pairing with Rachel… your song was great the other day. I think you are so talented… now we just got to get you to show it more. Quinn you are with Artie…Finn you'll be pairing with Tina…" No excitement here, most of the people called for the first pairings let out a sigh. This was going to be a long week and there was no getting around it. Before continuing on with what he wanted done with this assignment he gave lists of the other groups.

Now I have already picked songs for all of you and next week we will be performing them… I might see if we can get a few people to watch. Today we can just play around… I got a few songs here I would like to hear you guys take a shot at…" Ever the cheerful Mr. Schuester continued on with glee and though he was not oblivious to what was going on he hoped that everyone could work things out.

Glee protective came to an end when everyone started piling out of the door side doors. Rachel was still gathering her things together when a very angry Puck left without so much of a word. His book bag was slung over his shoulder and his eyes didn't even take the time to look around. No one could tell why he had been even more moodier, over the past week or so, but it wasn't as though he would open up to any of c. Rachel quickly waved her hand in the air bidding her friends good bye and jogged out the door trying to keep up with Noah. As she spotted him leaving down the hallway she came up behind him and said, "So are you just going to ignore me now…?'

"Well that was the plan!" It was as though he didn't even need to take the time to think about it. There was nothing he wanted to say to Rachel; in fact he wanted it to go back to the way it was before their little experiment.

Rachel reached out her hand and forcefully got Noah to stop and look at her. "You've been like this since the last time we spoke. If you are upset with me Noah… then why don't you talk to me abou…"

"Why would I want to talk to a freak like you…?" His tone was hard but in the deepest part of Rachel's heart she hoped he didn't mean that. His face read of someone who just didn't care.

"Alright… you don't have to like me… and we don't even have to be friends… but we are going to have to talk if we are going to get the song that Mr. Schuester gave us. It's fine if you don't like me but I am not going to let you take away sectionals from me. So if you don't want to talk to me fine but can it at least start after we finish this song." The words came easily to her but she was so used to protecting herself. It was hard for her some times to see what was real and what wasn't. She continued to stare down Noah not giving in to him on this matter.

"Oh yes your precious sectionals…!"

"Noah! Seriously! I don't want you to hate me… can we just work on the song…?"

Letting out a deep sigh as he rearranged his book bag on his shoulder, he knew if he didn't do this then she would continue to bother him. "We can practice later…" With that he turned on his heels and began to walk away from her.

"Where…?"

With his back still turned to the girl he shouted out, "My place, seven…" Nothing more was said.

It had taken some time to find out where Noah lived but when Rachel did she headed right over with the cd that Mr. Schuester had given them. She wanted to listen to the song before going over to Noah's house so she could work on it even without him, but her over barring curiosity lost out. She tucked it away only to listen to it when both of them were in the room. Now she stood just outside the door of Noah's house unwilling to knock or ring the door bell. She could tell from their earlier argument that he did not want her there. Taking a deep sigh Rachel closed her eyes and just thought to herself silently. She was building up her strength to speak with Noah, all the while standing with her eyes closed. Had she paid just a little more attention then she would have noticed the door being open before her. She would have noticed Noah's standing there with a cocked, "I was right you are a freak…" With that Rachel's eyes flew open. "Let's get this over with…" Was as much of an invitation as she was going to get.

"Here's the song… I didn't listen to it yet…" As she walked in to the house she passed over the cd. There was no one home; she figured that he had planned that so his mother would not see him with her. Inside Rachel could understand why he did that.

Noah then turned to pop the cd in to his player. He did not say anything while he did this. What was there to say? And when the song began to play Rachel sunk in to herself, Noah not being the person she wanted to sing this song with. She let out a sigh and lowered her eyes to the ground. It was the song _come what may_, but the Musical Moulin Rouge. Secretly it was her favorite love song, and now she couldn't believe that she was going to sing it with someone who hated her. Noah to had also let out a sigh, seeing as his sister had made him watch that movie over and over again with her. He knew the song all too well.

"Well should we get started…?" Rachel asked out composing herself. She had to push the idea of singing this song with Finn as far from her mind as she could. "This song is from…"

And before Rachel could finish what she was saying Noah began to sing with his back still turned to her,  
_Never knew I could feel like this  
Like I've never seen the sky before…_

Something happened inside of Rachel that made her get chills all the way from her toes to her fingertips. Noah was rough around the edges, and his personality was lacking, but when it came to him voice, he was so soft and gentle. The chills continued as Noah turned to Rachel and looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. No spoken words were exchanged between the two of them, just looks. Noah continued,

_Want to vanish inside your kiss  
Every day I love you more and more  
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings  
Telling me to give you everything  
Seasons may change, winter to spring  
But I love you until the end of time_

'It's unfair…' Rachel thought, 'That he sound so lovely singing such a beautiful song… and not mean any of it…' Her eyes were fixated on him as he continued to sing. He was really good at this song and it had almost gotten to a point where she began to weep. The moment had passed and she smiled up at him to say, "You are a great singer Noah… and you seem to know the song well…" The song went on playing in the background as they began to speak.

"It's my sister's favorite movie… she forces me to watch it… so now that you know I can sing this and will not wreck your image in glee can we call it a night…?" He seemed to want her out of his house. It was easy for him to play this role he had played it his whole life. It was like slipping on a glove.

Rachel's eyes then went down to the ground. Not fully knowing why she asked the next question, "Noah did you only want me because you thought that I would be easy. Did you only spend time with me to get what you wanted and then you would leave… is that the reason…" She had not lifted her eyes so she did not see Noah's reaction to the question. His face remained still as it always did and he just stared at her for a minute longer.

"Why else would I want to be around you…?" The words came quick but just like how Rachel couldn't see his reaction he could not see hers either. "You are the kind of girl guys only use. Take Finn for example…" The words stung already without the mention of Finn, but Noah kept going. It would seem that he didn't know how to stop, "The only reason he paid attention to you is because he wasn't getting any from Quinn. You were there, you were desperate… you are just the girl guys go to get too to get their rocks off… so yes I guess that is the reason…" 'Did I mean any of that…?' Noah thought to himself as all the words he spoke were finish.

He did not notice but half way through his speech about what Rachel was good for, to the poor girl began to sob. All of what he had been saying was things she fears about herself. She never thought that she was this hated but as Noah put it why else, who him or even Finn spend time with her. She was no Quinn, she would never be. Quinn was the girl that everyone wanted and Rachel was not. Though she cried now she had come to terms with that a long time ago; she didn't know why she cried after what Noah had said. It wasn't as though she thought he ever truly liked her. The tears just continued to come and Noah understood what he had just done.

Rubbing her tears away Rachel channeled the drama kid in her; no more tears. The smile on her face was clearly fake but it served it's propose. "Thank you for your honesty… I think you are the first person to ever be honest with me…" She could not hold back the tears for long as before they started to come again she said, "I just remembered that… I… I… got to do something…" And with that Rachel turned around and ran for the door. Within seconds she left Noah standing there in his own house alone. The song still playing in the back ground,

_Oh, come what may, come what may  
I will love you, I will love you  
suddenly the world seems such a perfect place_


	2. Chapter 2

Never Knew,

I could feel like this...

The night went on like it always did but for some reason Puck could not find sleep. He remembered how harsh he had been with Rachel when she was here, 'you are just the girl guys go to get too to get their rocks off… so yes I guess that is the reason…' He wondered if that was really called for. He tossed and turned thinking about the whole situation. Like most of his life he spoke before ever thinking something out. While he stared at his ceiling he realized that he actually felt sorry for Rachel, which was strange on its own because he was sure he didn't even like her all that much. It had been a long time since he actually felt sympathy for someone else, he had gotten so used to his role in the high school arena that it was who he was now. "Damnit…" He proclaimed to himself as he continued staring up at his plain boring ceiling. Now he knew that he had to do something about all of this so he could get back to sleeping. He planned secretly to talk to her tomorrow, not really knowing what he was say. Just knowing that if he didn't something worse would happen.

The high school, a place as cruel and as violent as the jungle. Each creature who wandered the halls were oblivious to the feelings of their pray. High school was a clear sigh of the strongest on the food chain toying with the weakest. As Rachel stood facing her locker she was blind to what was going to happen next. She had not spoken to any one and was clearly not her cheery self. So when a cold cherry slushie hit the side of her face and her body she was blind to it. She didn't even seem to reaction with tears or angry words. She stood frozen staring at her locker, face like a statue. Some Neanderthal football player stood there like a hyena laughing at the whole thing. Rachel lowered her head and shut the door to her locker and then pushed her way past the now laughing group of people. She didn't look up to see faces, she didn't care. Without a word she hid away in the girls washroom. Had she looked up or stayed just a little longer she would have noticed Noah standing just down the hallway looking angry. But unlike Finn who said he would do something about it and never did Noah went over to his team mate.

Grabbing the still laughing football player by the collar of his foots jacket, Noah slammed him forcefully in to the nearest lockets. Using enough force for the football player to squint in pain, and denting the locket behind him. "Do you think that is fuckin' funny? DO YA!" Sure Noah was shorter than the guys but clearly that was not a facture.

"Come on man… you used to do it all the time to… you don't care about these freaks do you. Or has joining gay parade made you weak…?" These seemed just the words to send Puck over the edge. No one saw what happened next coming. Puck punched his teammate in his stomach, and it was so hard it made the man whimper a little as he slid down the lockers now holding on to his stomach.

Everything happened so fast no one saw Noah slip in to the girl's washroom. He didn't know what was going on. Had the glee club changed him, or were these people actually becoming his friends. After seeing Puck in the washroom two or three girls left leaving only Rachel and him standing. Rachel had been hovering over a sink trying to clean herself off, she paid no attention to her surroundings and this was why she did not notice Noah standing just behind her. He had a strange look on his face; at least it was strange for him, almost softer, like he knew what his words had done. And when he heard a sniff came from Rachel he could tell she was crying. 'Why do I care…?' He had to ask himself.

"You alright…?" Seemed to be the only thing he could ask.

Rachel then stopped crying and looked up to the mirror and saw in the reflection Noah standing there. "Why wouldn't I be Puck?" This was the first time since they started talking that she referred to him by his nickname instead of his real name. Her eyes were red, both from the crying and the cherry slushie. She just continued to stare at him throw the mirror, never actually turning around to face him.

"Well I don't know… you are crying…"

Lowering her eyes once again she replied, "Just the slushie that's all…"

"Those jerks have no right to do that to you…"

"Slushie washes off Puck… unlike some of the colorful words you use to describe me…" She stared at him throw their reflections.

Nothing came after that, it was as though Puck was trying to figure out if he should stay or if he should go. He knew that his words had been harsh, but he thought that Rachel was so strong that nothing a guy like him would say could ever faze her. "Listen… I…" His voice was sweet almost like it was when he started singing the song yesterday.

Finally turning to him Rachel seemed to burn with passion, "No you listen Puck… you are not allowed to be nice to me one day and then cruel to me the next. I can't handle it. You are only allowed to be one or the other. And frankly I don't think you have it in you to be nice all the time… so why don't you just leave me alone…" As Rachel was about to storm out of the girl's washroom she was stopped by Noah putting a hand on her arm.

"I came here to apologize…" And before the rest could be finished there was a banging on the door. "NOAH PUCKERMAN… principal's office now…!" Rachel then left the room where the football player who threw the slushie in her face stood holding on to his stomach in pain, and next to him was the principal. Rachel turned to look in to Puck's face. That's when he slipped his hands in to his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. He didn't have to explain for Rachel to understand and before anything else happened Noah and the other football player were being led to the office. Rachel was frozen in the hallway… not understanding anything.


End file.
